13 Responses to A Victory for the Little Guys

to add to your idea of hockey as a meritocracy where the little guy with skill and heart can make it, i remember that preseason when little guy Metropolit had an amazing game and if i recall correctly even scored a hat trick, and he was still sent to the minors which said to me that they really had their team set in terms of the kinda players they wanted (ie the bigger the better) and weren’t prepared to deviate from it.
that being said, i think that considering Bruce’s background, it can probably be assumed that he has a soft spot for the Rudy’s and the smaller guys with the talent and the heart than your average nhl coach might be.

Bruce Boudreau knows the secret to the game…
You build a team on heart and desire and fill in with size and talent. No team ever won a Stanley Cup without heart.
You need players with heart to take other players game to another level.
Washington has a rarity… a player with max heart and max talent, a true superstar in Ovechkin. But, the whole character of this team has taken on the character of heart. They got it and they’re going to get the Stanley Cup, because the are going to do what it takes to get it. The simply aren’t going to be denied.

While it may be unbridled enthusasim, its also true. No team ever makes a run like the Caps did at the end of last season without having heart.
It also takes a goalie and skill players, I am aware of that. My point is that the Caps organization is putting it all together. They are on track.
For the record, when it comes to heart… I doubt many would rate higher than Quinton Laing.

So has it been determined where that puts Neuvirth? If he is the first one out of camp does it mean he will be the one loaned out to another AHL team? Maybe it is not a case of first out goes here etc., but you have to think that’s the case. How would you assess Bouchard? He looked good alongside Perreault in the rookie game, but of course it wasn’t an NHL game either.
Thanks keep up the awesome coverage

@ Steckel, excellent questions and thanks for the correction to our ongoing roster updates. While nothing’s set in stone, Cutta would likely return to Europe if he doesn’t make the Caps’ roster.
Re: Carlson, good question, and one to which I don’t know the answer but will check… his progress may indicate a league promotion over the USHL but I admit I’m not sure where he’ll end up.

Chaos – that makes sense on the roster, I understand, and it makes sense since you guys have been right on top of the roster throughout camp and for that I thank you!
Any info you might get on Carlson or Cutta would be great. I know that neither of them were on John Walton’s listing potential Hershey players so I would not be surprised to see them go elsewhere.

Some answers — Carlson is too young for the American League, so it’s back to Dale Hunter and the London Knights . . . although I gotta say, there are some folks I talked to in Hershey tonight who aren’t 100 percent convinced his return ticket has been purchased yet — he’s having that strong a camp with the Caps.
Cutta for sure would go back to Europe — the new Russian League most likely.